Barack Obama vows 'justice' for Steven Sotloff

President Barack Obama on Wednesday confirmed the authenticity of a video released by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant that showed the beheading of American journalist Steven Sotloff and vowed that the murder will only “stiffen” the U.S.’ determination to fight the group.

“Overnight, our government determined that tragically Steven [Sotloff] was taken from us in a horrific act of violence,” Obama said Wednesday morning during a joint news conference with Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves in Estonia ahead of the NATO summit in Wales this week.

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White House on beheading of Steven Sotloff

The video, which was released Tuesday, showed Sotloff being killed in a manner similar to ISIL’s beheading of journalist James Foley, who was slain last month. Sotloff had also been shown during the video of Foley’s killing, and ISIL threatened then that, if Obama did not cease airstrikes in Iraq against ISIL, it would kill Sotloff, too.

“Like Jim Foley before him, Steve’s life stood in sharp contrast to those who murdered him so brutally,” Obama said. “They make the absurd claim that they kill in the name of religion, but it was Steven, his friends say, who deeply loved the Islamic world. His killers try to claim that they defend the oppressed, but it was Steven who traveled across the Middle East risking his life to tell the story of Muslim men and women demanding justice and dignity.”

Obama described Sotloff, 31, who freelanced for Time and other publications, as a journalist who was “courageous” and “devoted.”

On Wednesday, Paul Hirschson, the deputy spokesperson for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, confirmed on his official Twitter account that Sotloff also held citizenship in Israel. According to reports from the Times of Israel, Sotloff gained his Israeli citizenship after coming to the country in 2008 to receive his undergraduate degree from the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC). Information on his citizenship was previously withheld due to fears that the intelligence may have posed further risks to Sotloff during his captivity, according to Reuters.

Last week, his mother pleaded for his captors to show mercy and release her son.

During the ISIL video, Sotloff’s masked killer, who is suspected to be the same man who murdered Foley, taunts Obama, saying in a British accent, “I’m back, Obama, and I’m back because of your arrogant foreign policy towards the Islamic State.”

Obama on Wednesday said he will not be intimidated.

“Whatever these murderers think they’ll achieve by killing innocent Americans like Steven, they have already failed. They failed because, like people around the world, Americans are repulsed by their barbarism. We will not be intimidated.”

Instead, Obama said, acts such as the killings of Foley and Sotloff only strengthen Americans’ opposition to ISIL.

“Their horrific acts only unite us as a country and stiffen our resolve to fight against these terrorists. And those who make the mistake of harming Americans will learn that we will not forget and that our reach is long and that justice will be served,” Obama said.

Asked about his objective in dealing with ISIL, the president said his objective is “clear, and that is to degrade and destroy ISIS so that it’s no longer a threat not just to Iraq, but also the region and to the United States.”

At another point, Obama said ISIL could be turned into a “manageable problem” if the international community united against it.

Last week, Obama faced heavy criticism after he said during a news conference on Aug. 28 that he had “no strategy” yet for military action against ISIL. On Wednesday, Obama was still unable to present a timeline but said that it would “take time” before U.S. forces can “roll [ISIL] back” and form a regional coalition that can enlist Iraqi Sunni groups as allies.

“It’s not only that we’re going to be bringing to justice those who perpetrated this terrible crime against these two fine young men, but more broadly the United States will continue to lead a regional and international effort against the barbaric and ultimately empty vision that ISIL represents and that’s going to take some time, but we’re going to get it done,” Obama said. “I’m very confident of it.”

Secretary of State John Kerry weighed in on Sotloff’s death later on Wednesday, decrying “the unfathomable brutality of ISIL terrorist murderers.”

“When terrorists anywhere around the world have murdered our citizens, the United States held them accountable, no matter how long it took,” Kerry said in a statement, after praising Sotloff for his “courageous” work. “And those who have murdered James Foley and Steven Sotloff in Syria should know that the United States will hold them accountable too, no matter how long it takes.”

Also on Wednesday, Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby said on MSNBC that, despite its aspirations, ISIL would not be a long-term threat.

“Ultimately, they will fail,” he said of ISIL. “In fact, in many ways, they already have failed. They’ve just been so brutal, their actions have been so horrific, that they’re not gaining much support. So, I don’t think that this is a threat that’s going to be in terms of years and years and years.”